In the twenty-first century, the word Presbyterian is virtually synonymous with “austere” and “parochial.” These associations are by no means historically unfounded, as early Canadian Presbyterians insisted on Sabbath observance and had a penchant for inter- and intra-denominational disagreement. However, many other ideas circulated within this religious community’s collective psyche. Boundless Dominion delves into the elaborate worldview that galvanized nineteenth-century Canadian Presbyterianism. Denis McKim uncovers a vibrant print culture and Presbyterian support for such initiatives as Indigenous evangelism, temperance advocacy, and anti-slavery activism and finds that many of the denomination’s characteristics contrast sharply with its dour and quarrelsome reputation. Tracing the themes of providence, politics, nature, and history in Presbyterian communities across five provinces, from Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick to Lower and Upper Canada, this book reveals that at the heart of this denomination lay a desire to facilitate God’s dominion and to promote Protestant piety across northern North America and beyond. Through an innovative approach to the study of religious ideas, Boundless Dominion highlights the permeability of borders and the myriad ways in which nineteenth-century Canada – including its Presbyterian community – shaped and was shaped by interactions with the wider world.
In the twenty-first century, the word Presbyterian is virtually synonymous with “austere” and “parochial.” These associations are by no means historically unfounded, as early Canadian Presbyterians insisted on Sabbath observance and had a penchant for inter- and intra-denominational disagreement. However, many other ideas circulated within this religious community’s collective psyche. Boundless Dominion delves into the elaborate worldview that galvanized nineteenth-century Canadian Presbyterianism. Denis McKim uncovers a vibrant print culture and Presbyterian support for such initiatives as Indigenous evangelism, temperance advocacy, and anti-slavery activism and finds that many of the denomination’s characteristics contrast sharply with its dour and quarrelsome reputation. Tracing the themes of providence, politics, nature, and history in Presbyterian communities across five provinces, from Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick to Lower and Upper Canada, this book reveals that at the heart of this denomination lay a desire to facilitate God’s dominion and to promote Protestant piety across northern North America and beyond. Through an innovative approach to the study of religious ideas, Boundless Dominion highlights the permeability of borders and the myriad ways in which nineteenth-century Canada – including its Presbyterian community – shaped and was shaped by interactions with the wider world.
Winner of the Dafoe Book Prize Winner of the University of British Columbia Medal for Canadian Biography 1995 marked the 100th anniversary of that most charismatic and enigmatic public figure, the thirteenth prime minister of Canada, John George Diefenbaker. Beloved and reviled with equal passion, he was a politician possessed of a flamboyant, self-fabulizing nature that is the essential ingredient of spellbinding biography. After several runs at political office, Diefenbaker finally reached the Commons in 1940; sixteen years later he was leader of the Progressive Conservative Party. In 1958, after a campaign that dazzled the voters, the Tories won the largest majority in the nation’s history: the Liberal party was shattered, its leader, Lester Pearson, humiliated by an electorate that had chosen to “follow John.” Diefenbaker’s victory promised a long and sunny Conservative era. It was not to be: instead Dief gave the country a decade of continuous convulsion, marked by his government’s defeat in 1963 and his own forced departure from the leadership in 1967, a very public drama that divided his party and riveted the nation. When Diefenbaker died in 1979, he was given a state funeral modeled - at his own direction - on those of Churchill and Kennedy. It culminated in a transcontinental train journey and burial on the bluffs overlooking Saskatoon, alongside the archive that houses his papers - the only presidential-style library built for a Canadian prime minister. Canadians embraced the image of Dief as a morally triumphant underdog, even as they were repelled by his outrageous excesses. He revived a moribund party and gave the country a fresh sense of purpose but he was no match for the dilemmas of the Cold War of Quebec nationalism, or the subtleties of the country’s relations with the United States. This compelling biography, illuminating both legend and man and the nation he helped shape, was among the most highly praised books of the year.
From Diderot's monumental illustrated record of 18th-century European arts and sciences: elegant renderings of architectural landmarks; drawings and plans for windmills, bridges and boats; renderings of palatial interiors and furnishings; elevations and floor plans for many well-known European theaters; scenes of 18th-century craftsmen at work in the building trades; and much more.
Throughout the two-thousand-year span of Christian history, believers in Jesus have sought to articulate their faith and their understanding of how God works in the world. How do we, as we examine the vast and varied output of those who came before us, understand the unity and the diversity of their thinking? How do we make sense of our own thought in light of theirs?
This second volume in the Counterpoints Series, which explores issues in psychology, child development, linguistics, and neuroscience, focuses on alternative models of visual-spatial processing in human cognition. This text offers extended chapters from three of the most respected and recognized investigators in the field: Michel Denis, Margaret Intons-Peterson, and Philip Johnson-Laird. Denis considers the role of mental imagery in spatial cognition and topographical orientation; images are viewed as a form of mental representation that is similar to real-world objects. Intons-Peterson examines spatial representation in short-term, or working-memory, considering the relationship of visual-spatial processes to subjects' expectations and individual differences. Johnson-Laird approaches the issue of visual-spatial representation from a "mental models" perspective, considering the relationship of images to various cognitive events. The editors provide a historical and theoretical introduction; and a final chapter integrates the arguments of the chapters, offering ideas about new directions and new research designs.
This book examines unintended participatory cultures and media surrounding the American televangelists Robert Tilton and Tammy Faye Bakker-Messner. It brings to light heavily ironic fan followings; print, audio, and video projects; public access television parodies; and other comedic participatory practices associated with these controversial preachers from the 1980s onwards. For Tilton’s ministry, some of these activities and artifacts would prove irksome and even threatening, particularly an analog video remix turned online viral sensation. In contrast, Bakker-Messner’s “campy” fans – gay men attracted to her “ludicrous tragedy” – would provide her unexpected opportunities for career rehabilitation. Denis J. Bekkering challenges “supply-side” religious economy and branding approaches, suggestions of novelty in religion and “new” media studies, and the emphasis on sincere devotion in research on religion and fandom. He also highlights how everyday individuals have long participated in public negotiations of Christian authenticity through tongue-in-cheek play with purported religious “fakes.”
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